The Ontario Court of Appeal made an important ruling for the province’s resource sector on Monday, overturning a decision in the Keewatin case. According to the original decision, the Ontario government could not approve projects in places where First Nations groups have treaty harvesting rights.

The case could eventually wind up in the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, it has major implications for junior gold miner Rubicon Minerals Corp., which is developing the Phoenix project in the Red Lake camp. Last December, the Wabauskang First Nation (WFN) launched a legal action to stop construction of the mine. The group has called for a judicial review of the closure plan for the Phoenix project.

Not surprisingly, Rubicon applauded the appeal court ruling on Monday and said that the WFN’s complaint is without merit.

TD Securities analyst Daniel Earle added that this was a positive development for Rubicon in the dispute.

“If the Keewatin decision was upheld, the WFN would have had a stronger case in its planned lawsuit opposing the permitting of the Phoenix project. While the case may ultimately graduate to the Supreme Court of Canada, we believe this afternoon’s decision reinforced the company’s strong legal footing in this matter,” he wrote in a note.

Mr. Earle added that the WFN will now likely have to prove that it was not properly consulted during the drafting and approval of Rubicon’s closure plan. This could be tough, as he understands that Rubicon and the WFN had 28 documented meetings since 2009, and the WFN hired an independent consultant that was involved in preparing the closure plan.

“Reportedly all of the consultant’s recommendations were implemented into the plan,” he wrote.